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The Social Change Quotient: Are We Doing Our Share ?

The Social Change Quotient: Are We Doing Our Share ?. Theories of Change: Moving from Outputs to Outcomes. Create a PATHWAY to Change. Hel éne Clark. ActKnowledge. Making a Difference. How Do We Know If We Are Doing Our Share?

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The Social Change Quotient: Are We Doing Our Share ?

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  1. The Social Change Quotient: Are We Doing Our Share? Theories of Change: Moving from Outputs to Outcomes

  2. Create a PATHWAY to Change

  3. Heléne Clark ActKnowledge

  4. Making a Difference How Do We Know If We Are Doing Our Share? • We can talk about what we do in terms of how many people we reach • We can talk about how people (or communities or policies) are different after we reach them

  5. Output Outcome What We Did For People -- What Happened After We Did It? How many students attended our after-school program? How many students who attended our after-school program graduated?

  6. Outcome Are outcomes and goals different? Goal Impact Result Sometimes! Make sure you use consistently in your own work

  7. HIPPY OUTCOMES

  8. Outcomes are a Condition • Children are healthy • Children are ready for school • Parents are literate

  9. Reaching Outcomes is Hard • They may not occur for a long time • You may not be the only ones responsible • Economic, cultural or political factors may hinder effectiveness

  10. What Do We Do (usually)? Create good programs and keep track of who we serve? (outputs) That can lead to some people getting good services But, will it lead to lasting change?

  11. What Can We Do?First, we can be very clear about what we believe needs to change

  12. GET ORGANIZED! We need a means to represent and keep-track of a lot of information. We need to know all the factors and barriers to change; we need to know how different sectors and levels of society interact; we need to know how the many parts of change work together.

  13. WHY?

  14. How Do You Know Which Programs and Activities Will Get You Where You Want to Go?

  15. The Importance of Clear Goals If we aren’t sure WHERE WE WANT TO GO, our programs may not get us there, no matter how many people we serve!

  16. So: Start with the long-term goal you want for your community e.g. School readiness Good health Vibrant economy

  17. But How Do We Get There? Introduction to THEORY OF CHANGE (or, how to create pathways that work)

  18. THEORY OF CHANGE The set of beliefs that guides thinking about how and why a complex change process will unfold…

  19. Theory of Change Why Develop One? • Participatory Process • Creates realistic program expectations • Creates a safe place to be reflective • Can improveevaluation • Allows others to understand what you are doing

  20. OTHER ADVANTAGES • Stakeholders are asked to be clear about their assumptions • Gaps between steps and outcomes become evident • Novel solutions may emerge • The initiative is more likely to be effective

  21. Plus….. • Evaluations based on a theory carry more weight • Evaluation plans and criteria are transparent to everyone • A broader base of knowledge is created

  22. You Start with Your Long-Term Goal And, Work Backwards

  23. A good pathway (and a good theory of change) identifies: • Where you want to go • The route you will take to get there • Why certain milestones are necessarysteps in the path you will travel And that is the kind of pathway you need to build to get to where you want to be in your community

  24. Theory of ChangeComponents Change Framework Outcomes, modeled in causal pathways Interventions, modeled leading to the relevant Outcome(s) Assumptions Rationales Indicators Narrative

  25. First, you need to know where you want to go(and be specific)

  26. Don’t settle for abstract GOALSDEFINE THEM! School Readiness? For who? What does it mean to be ready? What does it look like?

  27. A good way to create your road map is to start with a well-defined long-term goal and then work backwards through preconditions for getting to your ultimate goal

  28. Create a PATHWAY to Change

  29. PRECONDITIONS What HAS to change if the long-term goal is going to happen? This helps you avoid doing things that are good, but don’t get you where you want to go – I didn’t drive through Florida to get here from New York, even though it would be nice to go to Florida, it isn’t the most efficient way to accomplish my goal of being here tonight!

  30. Another exampleLong-term Goal:School Reform One possible precondition: Parent Engagement School Reform Parent Engagement

  31. Theory of Change Visual Language Ultimate Outcome Long Term Outcome (Rationale) A 1 (Intervention) Precondition (Outcome) Precondition (Outcome)

  32. Health Clinic in a School Students do well in school Lots of other preconditions! Students attend school regularly Students asthma is controlled Parents understand importance of getting child to school Parents register for asthma medication at school

  33. Health Clinic in a School Students do well in school Indicator: Attendance All students achieve 95% attendance rate Students attend school regularly Students asthma is controlled Parents understand importance of getting child to school Parents register for asthma medication at school

  34. Participatory work to identify outcomes and how to achieve them is messy work,but fun and exciting

  35. OUTCOMES

  36. After a lot of discussion, complex initiatives start to look manageable

  37. Outcomes after discussing how change happens

  38. How Do We Know If We Have a Good Theory? • Plausibility • Doability • Testability • And, most of all, learn through your work and revise your theory with every lesson

  39. Being clear about OUTCOMES is hard, but rewarding Activities planned to meet goals are more likely to be successful You can tell if you are on track You can show others you DO make a difference

  40. Contact: Heléne Clark Hclark@actknowledge.org

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